An investigation of preschool age childrens' transition from home setting to the educational setting

This qualitative study is conducted to investigate preschool age children's' transition process from the home setting to the educational setting with respect to the village, family, school and peer cultures that they were get involved in and contribute to and to explore the roles of the cultural elements involved in this process. The villagers, twenty-one children who started preschool in September (2014), four families, two teachers and the school staff participated in the study. This study was carried out in a village under the central province of Kahramanmaraş. In this study, the ethnographical method utilized to gather data. The data were collected in seven months through the participant observer technique and the interview, observation, document analysis, researcher diary techniques were used throughout this process. Descriptive and qualitative content analyses were used to analyze the data. While data were processed systematically in descriptive analysis, new meanings were attributed at a conceptual level in the content analysis. According to the study results, the socio-cultural structure of the children shapes their preschool transition process. While the physical structure of the village, social problems and collaborative acts have direct connection to the preschool transition process, the belief system of the village and the male-dominant structure have an implicit relation. Overprotectiveness of the family and the nature of their the relationship with their children has been significant in the social relationships that the children establish within the school. Stimulants offered to children at home, existence of an older sibling and life standards also play a crucial role in preparing the conditions for the school transfer process. Components such as the physical structure of the school, relationships with other cultures, strategies adopted in the transfer process, classroom management and educational curriculum have shaped in children liking their school and the process of adjusting themselves to it. Finally, the children who were successful in getting involved in the peer culture and played with children older before they started to school didn't encounter adaptation problems during the school transition process.